Zev Buffman to Launch First Mystery Writers' Festival in KY

 By Beau Higgins

Zev Buffman, whose colorful Broadway career delivered such theatrical milestones as Elizabeth Taylor's Broadway debut in "The Little Foxes," Andrew Lloyd-Weber's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," Muhammad Ali in the musical "Buck White," and Dustin Hoffman in "Jimmy Shine," and whose 30–year tenure as Florida's major theatrical producer was to spark a theatrical renaissance that brought ongoing successes to Miami's Coconut Grove Playhouse, the creation of Fort Lauderdale's Parker Playhouse and later in New Orleans, the re-birth of the Saenger Theatre, announces The First Annual International Mystery Writers' Festival, June 12-17, 2007 on the site of The RiverPark Center, 101 Daviess St. Owensboro, KY.

Sponsored by the State of Kentucky, the Daviess County Fiscal Court and City of Owensboro the Festival will mark the only new works festival in the English-speaking world specializing in "Discovering New Mysteries". Sought will be original "who-done-its," "cops & robbers," and courtroom plays, screenplays and teleplays to be juried by a panel of professional readers who will reduce the hundreds of submissions to 36 semi-finalists. A Blue Ribbon group composed of celebrated writers, directors, performers, literary agents and producers will then reduce the list to the Final 12.

Categories include Best New Work (play) $10,000 prize; Most Promising New Writer (all categories) $5,000 prize; Outstanding Screenplay or Teleplay, $2,500 prize; Best Direction; Best Actor; Best Actress; Best Supporting Actor; Best Supporting Actress. Two plays will receive full Broadway productions at the Center's Cannon Hall; 2 plays will be fully staged at the Experimental Theatre; 2 plays will be presented at Theatre Workshop of Owensboro (TWO); 6 screenplays and teleplays will receive staged readings at the Center's Woodward's Stage or the Holbrook Balcony Theatre.

In addition, "Angie" Awards, named to honor the life work of Oscar, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning Hollywood, Broadway and television star Angela Lansbury, will be presented during the Festival's Sunday, June 17, closing Gala. Ernie Fletcher, Governor of Kentucky, will, at that time, honor Lansbury with the "First Lady of Mystery" Award.

Located on the banks of the Ohio River, west of Louisville, KY, The RiverPark Center is a 100,000 square foot multi-structure performing arts center. Scheduled to celebrate its 15th anniversary with the premiere of the Festival, the Center is composed of Cannon Hall (1,479 seats); Experimental Theatre (300 seat multi-purpose black box theatre); BB&T Plaza, (1,000 seat outdoor riverfront venue), and the International Bluegrass Music Museum.

The Center, under the aegis of Buffman, has become the regional theatre of the future. Home to The Broadway Series; the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra Series; an Indoor-Outdoor Movie Series; The Young Adult Theatre Academy (YATA); the Owensboro Dance Theatre, and international touring shows, more than 800 performances/events and several major outdoor festivals attract approximately 250,000 patrons each year.

Tagged nationally as "Broadway West" for building, rehearsing and premiering many pre-Broadway, national and international touring companies, i.e., "Dr. Dolittle, and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," RiverPark is also known in Japan as the "Tokyo Express." Tokyo-bound productions have included "42nd Street," The Who's "Tommy," and most recently, "Blast II" which was built and tried out before heading to Tokyo. This fall, Mel Brooks' "The Producers" will build and launch its national tour.

Further information is available with writers invited to contact The First Annual International Mystery Writers Festival 101 Daviess Street, Owensboro, Ky. 42303. Deadline for submissions is November 30, 2006. Selection of the "Festival Final 12" will be announced February 15, 2007. Please contact Kimberly Johnson (270) 687-2770.

E-mail: KJohnson@riverparkcenter.org.